When you purchase through links on our site , we may earn an affiliate direction . Here ’s how it work .
expert in Florida are still struggling to understand why critically endangered smalltooth sawfish are swimming in circles and beaching themselves , despite testing hundreds of water sample distribution and analyzing Pisces tissue paper .
" The cause , or causes , of the abnormal behaviour and mortality of fish in the Florida Keys ( prominently admit sawfish ) stay unknown,“Theresa Buffalo Bill , associate research scientist at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ( FWC ) Pisces the Fishes and Wildlife Research Institute , told Live Science in an email .
A smalltooth sawfish that swam into shallow water during the ongoing mass die off in Florida.
FWC has launched an intensive investigation , along with several pardner , to understand what might be cause this strange behavior .
The mysterious behavior has do the deaths of at least50 smalltooth sawfish(Pristis pectinata ) and is also affecting other species .
Initial reports of smalltooth sawfish behaving in an unusual way set out in gloam 2023 . The Pisces appeared to be work erratically and spinning in lot . FWC start receive reports of dead fish in January 2024 and believes the two might be relate . Smalltooth sawfish were declare critically endangered in2006 , and it ’s believed that 80 % of population have been lose in under 60 years , so every death could have a important impact on the species ’ survival .
Smalltooth sawfish swim in circles before beaching themselves and dying.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection ( DEP ) has tested the piddle for more than 250 unlike chemicals , but they revealed that none of the chemicals are at in high spirits enough levels to cause these deaths , according to a May 22statement .
" We start up with examining environmental conditions , water quality , pee samples for Harmful Algal Blooms ( HABs ) , and toxin psychoanalysis , " Cody say . There is no indicant that the die - off is down to carmine tide ( Karenia brevis ) algal efflorescence , accord to tests so far — though investigation are still ongoing .
" FWC and collaborator continue to investigate the likely office of HABs and associated algal toxin , " Cody allege .
Necropsies and lab tests have so far provided no answers as to why the smalltooth sawfish are dying.
O levels , brininess , pH , and temperature are also not trust to be the cause , and there have been no sign to suggest a bacterial infection or transmitted pathogen , consort to the statement .
investigator are also analyzing water and sediment sample distribution for weighed down metals , the effect of which are pending .
So far , 12 smalltooth sawfish tissue samples have been sent to the University of South Alabama for toxin analysis along with rakehell samples and nearly 300 tissue samples from other fish .
" We gather fish samples for necropsy to determine if we thought there was a possibility of infectious disease or sponge . This include the collection of tissues for histopathology , which may show changes at the cellular level , " Cody say . tissue paper psychoanalysis is on-going .
— with child recorded smalltooth sawfish wash up stagnant in Florida
— How sawfish impale prey with a toothy snout
— ' strange ' Oregonian dice - off in Utah because of ' rabbit pyrexia , ' which can also infect human race
FWC has received nearly 500 message from better half and members of the populace about the mass mortality event since November 2023 , but new reports have started to subside .
" It is unmanageable to know whether the event is beginning to finish , or if the reports coming in are fewer because the world knows an investigating is ongoing and assumes there is no longer a pauperization to present a report , " Cody said .
She stresses how important it is for members of the public to report all sighting so FWC can continue to supervise the case and get to the bottom of this enigma . " Even though spinning Pisces and mortality may cease , research will bear on , " she order .
